The Food and Nutrition Research Institute’s Institutional Ethics Review Committee or FIERC held its first organizational meeting in February 9, 2018. The meeting was organized by the FIERC Secretariat to welcome the new members of the committee. Present during the meeting were Dr. Gemiliano DL. Aligui, the newly appointed Chair, Dr. Rodolfo F. Florentino, Co-Chair, Ms. Evelyn Villapando, lay member and two new members, Dr. Rodolfo E. Sumayao, Jr. and Rev. Fr. Lucrecio V. Paquet. Two other FIERC members, Dr. Marie Joy B. Arguillas and Rev. Fr. Leonardo E. Dollentas were out of the country during the meeting. FIERC affiliates who are composed of representatives from selected FNRI technical divisions were also invited to the meeting.

The Department of Science and Technology - Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOSTFNRI) starts the three-year field data collection of the Expanded National Nutrition Survey (ENNS) in 2018. The change in survey data collection from six months in every five years to three years data collection in every five years was in response to the requests from different stakeholders, particularly the local government units (LGUs) to have local survey results that can be used for local level program planning.